[RP TownTalk] Voter Expansion Legislation Questions?

[Spiro Dimakas]

Sarah,

I am never surprised what people would do....ever. Documented or
undocumented, illegal or legal, it doesn't truly matter. Almost every
country in the world requires citizenship to vote in elections. This is
done deliberately and for good reason in a democracy.

I have no problem with us changing a charter to be more inclusive in local
matters. But is it worth all of the effort to change a charter and keep
track of the separate register of voters? I feel like if you have an issue
in this town, historicaly you can go to a council-member (whether we voted
or not) and the issue is addressed promptly. We also have a new form of
Town Government and don't rely on the council-members nearly as much as we
used to; with a Town Manager who is very attentive to resident complaints.

I just haven't seen a reason to justify this level of change besides it
being a current political "hot-topic". Everytime this issue has come up in
other municipalities the issue divides the town and causes problems. I
would love to hear why making voting more inclusive than what is set by
state and federal law is required for this town. I look forward to
attending to the meeting tonight and next month (even swapped off work to
be there).

Spiro Dimakas



On Mon, Apr 2, 2018 at 2:51 PM, Sarah Wayland <sarah.wayland at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Sure. But tell me this. If you were undocumented, would you register your
> name and address to a registry that the Town would turn over to ICE if
> requested to do so?
>
> I sure wouldn't.
>
> -Sarah
>
>
> On Mon, Apr 2, 2018 at 1:34 PM, Audrey Bragg <abragg7393 at aol.com> wrote:
>
>> I asked my council rep about illegal and undocumented immigrants, and he
>> said yes the legislation includes undocumented immigrants.
>> Audrey Bragg
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Sarah Wayland <sarah.wayland at gmail.com>
>> To: Bruce Wernek <bruce.wernek at verizon.net>
>> Cc: TownTalk <TownTalk at riverdale-park.org>
>> Sent: Mon, Apr 2, 2018 8:54 am
>> Subject: Re: [RP TownTalk] Voter Expansion Legislation Questions?
>>
>> Hi Bruce,
>>
>> I know I'm not Councilmember Dixon, but I want to address an assumption
>> in your questions.
>>
>> This legislation does not target "illegal" immigrants. It is aimed at
>> enfranchising people who are here legally (e.g., on H1B Visas, with Green
>> Cards, etc.). I assume that people who are here illegally would want to
>> avoid adding their names and addresses to a registry that the Town would
>> turn over to ICE if requested to do so.
>>
>> Also, it's important to remember that the council sets policy by voting
>> to change the Town Charter. The procedures by which that policy is
>> implemented is part of the Town's Code and, in this case, as part of the
>> Town's Election Manual.
>>
>> -Sarah
>>
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>
>
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